Mysuru: Following the recent busting of a multi-crore drug manufacturing unit at Belavatta on Outer Ring Road (ORR) junction in Mysuru city, hundreds of activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Karnataka Dakshin Pranth, Mysuru Unit, staged a protest as part of its ‘Drug Free Campus, Mysuru and Karnataka Campaign’ this morning.
The activists, accompanied by various College students, led by ABVP, Karnataka Dakshin Pranth, Mysuru Unit’s Student Pramukh Vasantha, gathered near 12th-century social reformer Basavanna’s statue near JSS Mahavidyapeetha and raised slogans against the Karnataka Home Ministry.
Slogans like ‘Drugs guarantee, elendralli drugsu, gruha ilakhe sustu’ (Home Ministry unable to control availability of drugs everywhere) were raised, highlighting the failure of the Home Ministry, with the protesters demanding that the State Government to own the responsibility.
They demanded a high-level probe into the drug busting case in Mysuru that has huge ramifications with its tentacles spread up to Maharashtra (as Maharashtra Police busted the drug manufacturing unit in Mysuru, as a follow-up action in a case registered in that State).
The protesters said, Mysuru, the Cultural Capital, turning into the root of drugs and substance abuse, is indeed a matter of grave concern. The future of students caught in the cobweb of drugs is in a fix, with the drugs being easily accessible.
The increasing crime graph has a direct link with substance abuse. Girl students are also not spared from drug influence, which raises a question about their safety in society. The peace and unity in society are facing a threat, and the drug mafia has been rendering the youths and society, financially, mentally and physically weaker, they said.
NDPS, COTPA implementation
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) should be effectively invoked to root out the drug menace and the investigation agencies should be vested with more powers and resources to crack down on drug peddlers, manufacturers and mighty forces that guard them, they demanded.
On awareness front, the protesters noted that the number of Drug Addicts Rehabilitation Centres must be increased and continuous campaigns involving Police, school and college students and student organisations should be conducted.
Drug-related cases booked at Police Stations should be supervised by the newly constituted Anti-Narcotics Task Force (AnTF) and it should be given freedom to handle the case, to fulfil the noble intention behind the constitution of Task Force.
Earlier, the protesters wanted to take out an awareness jatha to Gandhi Square, but the Police refused permission, citing a threat to law and order situation. ABVP City Secretary Sanjeeth, State Assistant Secretary Prajwal and others were present.
This post was published on August 12, 2025 7:02 pm